SAGE Journal Articles

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Journal Article 1: Burgers, C., & Beukeboom, C. J. (2014). Stereotype transmission and maintenance through interpersonal communication: The irony biasCommunication Research43, 414–441.

Abstract: In interpersonal communication, stereotypes are predominantly transmitted through language. Linguistic bias theory presupposes that speakers systematically vary their language when communicating stereotype-consistent and stereotype-inconsistent information. We investigate whether these findings can be extended to verbal irony use. The irony bias posits that irony is more appropriate to communicate stereotype-inconsistent than stereotype-consistent information. Three experiments support this hypothesis by showing that irony is found more appropriate (Experiments 1-2) and used more often (Experiment 3) in stereotype-inconsistent than in stereotype-consistent situations. Furthermore, linguistic biases have important communicative consequences, because they implicitly serve to maintain stereotypic expectancies. Experiment 4 shows that irony shares this characteristic with other linguistic biases, in that irony—compared to literal language—leads to more external attribution. Taken together, these results indicate that stereotypic expectancies are subtly revealed and confirmed by verbal irony, and that verbal irony plays an important role in stereotype communication and maintenance.

Journal Article 2: Babin, E. A. (2012). An examination of predictors of nonverbal and verbal communication of pleasure during sex and sexual satisfactionJournal of Social and Personal Relationships30, 270–292.

Abstract: This study examined a model in which sexual communication apprehension and sexual self-esteem were expected to predict individuals’ verbal and nonverbal communication of pleasure during sex, which in turn were expected to predict participants’ sexual satisfaction. The data produced support for five of the six hypothesized relationships. Nonverbal communication during sex fully mediated the relationship between sexual self-esteem and sexual satisfaction, and partially mediated the relationship between sexual communication apprehension and sexual satisfaction. Verbal communication during sex did not predict sexual satisfaction. The findings draw attention to the need for scholars to examine both verbal and nonverbal forms of sexual communication, as well as factors that might influence the extent to which individuals’ communicate sexual pleasure during sexual encounters.